


Challenging Asbel

by ArgentShiroi



Category: Tales of Graces
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 15:32:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11558145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentShiroi/pseuds/ArgentShiroi
Summary: “Hey, Asbel… I challenge you!”“Why?”“Coz everyone else is doing that and it seems fun?”





	Challenging Asbel

**Author's Note:**

> Because Pascal should have challenged Asbel before the whole mess with Emeraude. I mean everyone else had except Cheria but I would have thought that sort of challenge odd. So, Pascal's challenge. Random place, random time and not too seriously written piece so I could get a feel of characters.

“Hey, Asbel… I challenge you!” Pascal yelled enthusiastically and pointed her staff towards the lord of Lhant.

“What?” Asbel seemed as surprised as everyone else. “Why?”

It was Pascal’s turn to be surprised. “Coz everyone else is doing that and it seems fun?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? We had reasons to challenge him!” Hubert said angrily, “You, on the other hand, have no reason to make him waste precious time he could use to prepare for the fight against Lambda and king Richard.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, lil’ bro,” Pascal said with a mischievous undertone in her fake-sad voice. “I just need a reason then.”

Her thoughtful expression warned everyone, even Hubert who glanced at his brother. _‘Do something’_ , his eyes told clearly. Asbel nodded. Years apart had never dulled their ability to understand each other even if Hubert had once wished that it had.

“It’s okay, Pascal. We can train. I haven’t been able to fight against mages in a while,” Asbel tried.

“Nah, no worries Asbel. I got it,” Pascal’s eyes landed on Cheria, “We fight for Cheria’s hand, okay?”

“What?” Asbel and Cheria asked at the same time, former totally obvious and latter blushing furiously. Cheria really should have seen it coming the moment when Pascal grinned at her.

“Well, in Lhant everyone seemed to think that you two are going to marry. I wish to challenge that,” Pascal said, grinning widely. “Here I come!”

“B-but…” Asbel didn’t know what to say. He didn’t see that Cheria was glaring daggers at him for his reluctance. He jumped backwards to avoid getting hit at head with the staff. For a mage, Pascal sure was quick.

Asbel grabbed his sword and focused. He would never lose in front of his teacher and little brother who both would tease him to the end of time.

 

*

 

“I won, again,” Pascal danced circles and laughed while Asbel was a heap of unconsciousness and not too serious burns. Cheria ran to him with Sophie in tow and they checked that Asbel was okay. She sent a murderous look towards Pascal who looked pale and suddenly very scared.

Asbel was okay and Cheria turned her attention to the adorable and infuriating Amarcian. Pascal was quick but she was quicker and dragged the girl with her away from others. They needed to talk and quickly.

Cheria felt a blush colouring her cheeks when both Hubert and Malik looked at her curiously and amused as she passed them with whimpering Amarcian in tow. Cheria knew what looks meant. Damn that stupid pain in the ass Amarcian. She could almost hear Asbel or Malik as if she likes women that way. At least Hubert was too sweet to put her in embarrassing position.

Cheria had no idea if she should lie or tell the truth. She panicked over the question all the short way to the riverbank. Cheria had always been a ‘Good Girl’, a title bestowed upon her without her consent. It had felt so much like a prison.

Good girls didn’t stare at other girls, let alone got distracted by them at beach.

Good girls wanted to marry their childhood best male friends and have a normal family.

Good girls didn’t definitely get excited when another pretty girl declares their intentions of courting. Though, Pascal may not have meant it that way but it had still stolen Cheria’s ability to breathe normally.

“Why did you have to do that?” Cheria shouted at the blonde when their group couldn’t see them. (They did hear the shout, though.) She was so annoyed because one stupid declaration had chipped away what she had spent years creating. Sure, there had been cracks from before because how could she had not been affected by flirtatious girl?

“What? Um, challenge your…” Pascal searched for the word that Amarcians didn’t use, “engagement?”

“W-we’re not engaged!” Cheria objected weakly, feeling embarrassed. She would have loved to be but Asbel had never asked the question. Even if she may never be able to love her future husband, she had always thought that she could follow rules.

“Oh, I thought… Um, well, I didn’t have a good reason to make Asbel fight against me as well as he could so I thought that it was that or something Sophie-related but I didn’t figure out anything…” The Amarcian explained and shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, right?”

“It is!” Cheria hissed, not looking at the Amarcian. Everyone would think that there was something between Pascal and her. Such relationships were a bit less frowned upon than years ago when the Church had more power but the stigma was still there. It wasn’t normal, it was sick, a disease.

Cheria had always avoided being seen as one of them. Lhant was a small town, she would have been exiled. No matter what laws stated, a girl with another girl would have been scandal. Besides, how could she ever had met anyone? It had been better to hide and bury her feelings.

Then Pascal came, obviously liked girls, drove Cheria insane by being a mix of annoying, weird and adorable. And Pascal had chosen her over Sophie.

“Why? Is it because Asbel is engaged to Richard?” Pascal asked curiously. While she wasn’t Sophie, some cultural things still seemed to confuse her. Usually Pascal didn’t give a damn about them. Cheria had been amused when she had found out that Pascal’s knowledge of marriage had been spotty at the best. Seeing the girl groaning because of sheer amount of info Cheria had supplied her with, had been cute.

“What?” Cheria was genuinely shocked. When that had happened and why Asbel had kept it a secret? If Asbel was engaged to Richard, she could use that as an excuse not to marry anyone!

“Well, you get engaged when you give a ring to someone you like, right? Asbel said that the king gave him a ring,” Pascal shrugged.

Cheria face palmed. The logic was sound. The Amarcians had different customs so Pascal would probably not understand the difference between giving a ring and the ring.

“And Asbel talks about him, like, non-stop. Even the Captain said that the bond they share is special.”

“Even the Captain…?” Cheria stared at the blonde. It certainly sounded plausible and she wanted to believe it. Asbel had been her friend always. Cheria could marry him because it was expected but the thought of any other man had always made her nauseous.

“It wouldn’t be just sex, you know. Do you find idea of two men together in normal relationship that disgusting?” Pascal was surprised, misinterpreting Cheria’s expression.

Cheria did, actually. Not the relationship part, but she had a misfortune of imagining Asbel and Richard intimately. Even one man was disgusting enough. Two was, like marrying two men at the same time. She couldn’t say that aloud though.

“I can’t believe you!” Pascal exclaimed. She looked so angry that it almost broke Cheria’s heart right there. “I like girls. Do you hate me for that?”

A silence descended and wrapped them inside. It was one of those moments when time simply stopped. They looked at each other, thoughts rushing in their minds one after another.

Pascal liked girls. No one seemed to mind that Asbel liked Richard. No one cared that Pascal was all over Sophie - except Cheria who wished to be in Sophie’s place.

It felt surreal like they were watching the world with a microscope and the wrong end or a telescope. Far and extremely close mixed together.

“I hoped you did,” Cheria finally confesses silently seeing that the truth was the easiest way out. She could have shouted those words, they felt so loud and somehow world-ending. She had never even hinted the truth and now she was sharing her greatest secret, greatest fear, with an odd Amarcian who had appeared in her life and shaken every single thing.

“What?” Pascal’s eyes widened before she looked at Cheria like she was a mystery. The redhead swallowed and gave the last piece of puzzle. It was a confession, a plea for help, a wish.

It was everything.

“Do you have any idea how attractive you are?” It was painful confession. Cheria had tried to ignore that fact. She had almost succeeded and then Pascal had chosen Cheria over Sophie.

Pascal didn’t have time to answer before Cheria was kissing her, gently, like she was testing waters. When she pulled away, Pascal looked dazed. Cheria smiled at the blonde though her heart was bumping so loudly that she wasn’t sure if she could hear anything over it.

She had kissed Pascal. She. Kissed. Pascal.

Finally.

And it had been totally insane. She wanted to do it again and again until the end of the time. How could she ever go back to being good girl she was supposed to be? She had ruined her carefully planned life in one totally unplanned act and couldn’t even regret it.

“Hold on, this makes absolutely no sense!” Pascal interrupted but she didn’t push Cheria away. Even more, she laced their fingers and looked adorably confused. “You wanted to marry Asbel.”

The time continued sluggishly and Cheria felt lightheaded because of fear. Adrenaline that had allowed her to tell the truth had vanished but she was still a bit affected. The world around Pascal hadn’t fully come into focus yet. 

“I… yes, he would be good choice, I think,” Cheria said awkwardly. The plan had sounded less insane in her head.

“But you kissed me and dislike gays?”

Cheria giggled at this. It wasn’t even funny. Maybe she was having a mental breakdown? She totally should. She had never confessed her feelings before and now she was doing that to a girl. “I find the idea of a man repulsive and two men is even worse. Though, if they’re interested in each other and keep clothes on… Luckily for me, you’re not a male.”

“You’re odd, Cheria,” Pascal laughed and touched redhead’s nose with her own.

“Is it a bad thing?” Cheria whispered and glanced at Pascal’s lips. She wanted to kiss the girl again. She lifted her hand and caressed Pascal’s cheek. The skin was warm and soft and left her fingers with tingly feeling. So this was electricity that was mentioned in romantic stories?

“I guess not,” Pascal whispered back.

“Is it crazy if I want to kiss you again?” Cheria asked.

“Does it matter?”

 

In that moment, it didn’t.

 

 

(When they got back to the camp, Asbel had woken up and grinned at her, asking teasingly: “When’s the wedding?"   
It wasn’t okay yet but Pascal took her hand in hers and maybe it would.)


End file.
